Marginal rail for cover strip retaining panels, especially for railway car



Dec. 10, 1957 A. G. DEAN Y 2,815,722

MARGINAL RAIL FOR COVER STRIP RETAINING PANELS, ESPECIALLY FOR RAILWAY CAR Original Filed 1Nov. 1, 1948 il 1l INV EN TUR. :Mber CT. Denn,

BY Y

ATTORNEY Uniteci States Patent() MARGINAL RAIL FOR COVER STRIPRETAININ G PANELS, ESPECIALLY FOR RAILWAY CAR Albert G. Dean, Narberth, Pa., assignor to The Budd Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Penn- Sylvania 3 Claims. (Cl. 10S-401) The invention relates to the formation and attachment of marginal rails to the framework of vehicle, especially railway car bodies. More specifically, the invention relates to that type of vehicle body which is provided with an outer trim sheathing or is at least provided with means for retaining such sheathing.

The application is a continuation of applicants originally co-pending application Serial No. 57,796, filed November 1, 1948, under the same title, which is now abandoned.

In certain respects, the invention relates to improvements of the structure disclosed in the inventors application Serial No. 782,000, filed October 24, 1947, which matured into Patent No. 2,592,545 on April 15, 1952, for Cover Panels for Vehicles, Especially Railway Cars, of which the present application is a continuationin-part. More specifically, the invention is directed to improvements of the structure disclosed in the simultaneously filed application Serial No. 57,683 of Michael Watter, which matured into Patent No. 2,620,750 on December 9, 1952, entitled PaneL and Panel Cover, Especially for Railway Car.

A main object of the invention is an improved construction and attachment of rails, such as belt and rub rails, along a panel provided with cover-sheathing-retaining nodes.

This object, broadly speaking, is achieved by using marginal cover-sheathing-retaining nodes as means for holding the marginal rails in place.

The briefly outlined objects and features of the invention will be more fully understood from the embodiment illustrated in the attached drawing and from the following detailed description thereof.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective side elevation, partially in transverse section, of the lower portion of side wall and adjoining underframe side sill of a sheet metal railway car; and

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary section, on a larger scale, along line 2 2 of Fig. l.

The railway car body shown fragmentarily in the drawing comprises a plurality of longitudinally spaced upright posts 10, only one being visible. Posts have their lower ends interconnected by a bottom sill or chord comprising a Z-section 11 and a gusset plate 12. 'Ihe outer arms of section 11 and plate 12 are overlappingly secured to each other and to the web of underframe side sill 13. In the region of window openings 14 (only one opening is shown fragmentarily in the drawing), the posts are interconnected by a structural dead light panel 15 and window sill members 16.

A shear panel 17 and a belt rail 18 structurally interconnect posts 10, gusset plate 12, dead light panel 15, and window sill members 16. Shear panel 17 has longitudinally extending nodes or corrugations 19. Each node 19 has a top wall 20 and side walls 21 forming together an inwardly facing channel section. Top walls 20 are profiled to give the appearance of narrow trim or molding strips. The side walls 21 of each node con- 2,815,722 Patented Dec. 1 0, 1957 verge inwardly toward each other so as to present undercut surfaces adapted to retain removable trim sheathing in the form of cover plates or strips 22. Each plate 22 has a web 23, preferably fluted or otherwise curved in section, and marginal flanges 24 with curled in edges 25.

Plates 22 consist of resilient material, such as cold rolled austenitic stainless sheet steel. The thickness may be 0.02 inch. Their width and the angles between their flanges 24 and their webs 23 are such that each plate can be sprung into place between the side walls 21 of successive nodes 19 and will be held in place by the resiliency of the plate as well as by the engagement of the flanges 24 with the side walls 21. The width of the flanges 24 is such that the curled in edges 25 nest in the angle-between the side walls 24 and the adjoining main portions of panel 17.

The construction described so far is either known or forms the subject matter 4of the originally co-pending Watter application, now Patent 2,620,750, above referred to.

Belt rail 18 is a channel section which has its upice ' wardly directed marginal flange 27 secured, such as by spot welding, to dead light panel 15 and window sill 16. The lower portion of rail 18 is provided with extensions 28, 29 shaped corresponding to top wall 20 and one side wall 21, respectively, of one of the nodes 19 so as to form a marginal node of itself. Extension 29 is continued by a downwardly directed flange 30 which is overlappingly secured, such as by spot welding, to the upper margin of shearpanel 17. Belt rail 18,\therefore, may be considered as part or extension of shear panel 17, to which it is connected prior to the attachment of panel and belt rail to adjoining body members 10, 12, 15 and 16.

Along its lower margin, shear panel 17 terminates in a node 19 which has its lower side wall 21 cut of slightly outside the plane of the inner surface of panel 17 so as to leave a narrow slot between the edge of this wall 21 and gusset plate 12.

After panel 17 has been connected with the members 10, 12, 15 and 16 to form part of the side wall subassembly, such side subassembly is secured to the outer web of underframe sill 13, for instance, by electric spot welds, at 31. This is done prior to the attachment of rub rail 32 and skirt molding 33.

Rub rail 32 has an upwardly directed marginal flange 34 which is merely pushed between the edge of the lowermost node wall 21 and gusset plate 12. A downwardly directed flange 35 of the rub rail and upper margin of skirt molding 33 are overlappingly secured to the web of underframe sill 13 by blind rivets 36 or other connecting means applicable exclusively from the outside of the car. The use of such means applicable from the outside is important because rub rail and skirt rail suffer damage occasionally and have to be replaced, and because in the finished car, the inside of the web of rail 13 is practically inaccessible on account of the underframe shear panel 37 and the floor boards (not shown) secured above the top arm of sill 13. With the described construction it is necessary merely to break the comparatively widely spaced blind rivets 35, whereupon the rub rail 32 may be taken olf by pulling its flange 34 from under the lowermost wall 21 and by putting in a new belt rail and applying a new set of blind rivets.

The lower margin of skirt panel 33 may be spot welded to flange 38 of rail 13 by relatively widely spaced welds. This connection is freely accessible even after completion of the car, and the welds can be broken and replaced by new welds if the skirt molding 33 requires replacement.

The formation of belt rail 18 and its joinder with shear panel 17 form the subject matter ,of applicants applica- -3 ation tiled under the same title simultaneously herewith as a division of the aforesaid original application Serial No. 57,796.

While only one embodiment of the invention has been shown and fdescribed, .it should be understood that the invention is susceptible to modifications and lrefinements falling within the spirit and the lscope of the invention. For instance, `the invention is not restricted to the specieally illustrated formation of the nodes as integral one-piece -pa'rts `of the shear panel, 'but the invention is also applicable to constructions lin which separately manufactured nodes serve -for holding the cover sheathing members 422. lAnother example of a modification is ernployment of the same form of rail under the window `vopening as well as along the lower margin of ythe side wall. In short, the invention is not restricted to the Iillustrated embodiment or yto the -specically mentioned modifications, but is directed to all constructions.

What is claimed is:

1. In a railway car or similar vehicle body, a panel provided with 'cover-strip-retaining nodes, said nodes be` ing of inwardly facing U-section and .having .side walls, one of the nodes being provided along a margin of the panel, said panel being secured to -a supporting lvstructure except for the outer one of said `side walls of fsaid node along the margin, said outer side wall leaving a slot between its edge and the supporting structure, a molding section having a side wall and a lateral ange, said outer side wall of the marginal node abutting said side wall of 4said molding section, and said flange extending into said slot and being vheld by the inner edge of said outer side wall of the marginal node. p

y2. In a vehicle body, a side wall structure having a plurality of vertical frame members spaced from each -other 'in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, a longi tudinally extending panel on the outside ofv said members provided on its outside with horizontally arranged outwardly projecting nodes of inwardly facing U-section, said nodes having side walls and said panel being secured by its portions between' said vside walls of the nodes to said frame members, and a'hollow-section chord member being arranged along a longitudinal margin of said panel, a node being arranged where lsaid 'panel and lchord member `meet and abutting the latter by one of its side walls, said last-named side wall .being formed as part of connecting means of said chord member to said panel and thereby to said frame members.

3. In a railway vc'ar or 'similar vehicle body, a panel provided with longitudinally 'extending nodes and secured to longitudinally spaced frame members extending transversely yto the -longitudinal extent of the body, said nodes being of inwardly facing U-section, one of the nodes being provided along and having its one side wall delninga longitudinal margin of the panel, said no'de side wall being -outwardly spaced from said frame members, `avrnolcling section having a side wall and a lateral llange, said side wall ofthe molding section and said ange being overlappingly engaged and held in place exclusively-by saidnode side wall.

Referencesf'c'ifed .in 'the 'fue of this patent UNTED STATES PATENTS 434,353 Northrop Aug. 12, 1890 973,622 Budd Oct. 25, 1910 11,060,432 De Canio Apr. 29, 1913 1,842,282 Place f Jan. 19, 1932 2,256,494 Ragsdale et al v-.. Sept. 23, 1941 .2,294,357 .Dean er a1. Y Y Aug. 25, 1942 2,513,473 Greig ..-L La July 4, 1950 

